Going the distance: Thursday's Gobble Gobble event much more than a road race for one Naples teen

Merry Kandel, her daughter Hannah, Gobble Gobble race director Matthew Sonneborn, and trainer Chante Pemberton, are ready for Hannah's first road race. The 18-year-old, who is autistic, has been training for the race since August.

NAPLES - In late August, Merry Kandel stood at the large window on the second floor of the family's home and watched as her 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, ran away.

Tears flowed down Merry's cheeks.

It's not what you think.

Thursday morning, those same tears will probably flow once more when Merry and her husband, Dr. Joseph Kandel, watch with pride as Hannah runs away again.

This time, Hannah won't be running from home. Along with nearly 2,400 other participants, Hannah will toe the starting line for the 15th annual Gobble Gobble four-mile race at Venetian Village.

The race marks another milestone in Hannah's incredible life. At 2 1/2 years old, she was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, which includes Autism, Asperger Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder.

Regardless, autism has not stopped Hannah from graduating from Seacrest Country Day School in 2007 or receiving a certificate or completion from Eden Autism Services in June and continuing her education through "post-graduate work."

It has also not stopped her from vibrantly pursuing numerous hobbies, such as gymnastics, acting, equestrian and Irish step dancing. It was the last endeavor that led her to the road toward fitness and to today's road race.

In Febuary 2009, Hannah tried on her Irish step costume. It was too tight. She followed her mother into the Weight Watchers program. Then in December, she began weight training with Merry's personal trainer, Chante Pemberton, owner of Paradise Coast Fitness.

"I've lost 42.6 pounds," Hannah said Tuesday. "I started running to lose weight."

In August, after eight months of weight training with Hannah, Pemberton thought she was ready for some road work.

"Cardio goes hand in hand with dieting," said Pemberton, who will run alongside Hannah today. "We took it little by little. First on a treadmill then outside."

Before venturing out on the streets, Pemberton and Merry found it best for Hannah to have a destination in which to run. For that first foray in August, it was the pumpkin patch growing on the grounds of the North Naples Methodist Church, just a few blocks from the Kandel's home.

"It was emotional watching as (Hannah) ran out of our driveway," Merry said, remembering her tears that first time. "Watching her doing a typical thing, on her own … it was such a moment."

It helped that Hannah was enticed with the prize of a pumpkin once she reached the church.

"With Hannah, you need a goal and a reward," Pemberton said. "I had to learn how to work with and communicate in a way that works for Hannah."

As Merry, Chante, Hannah, and Gobble Gobble race director Matthew Sonneborn sat in the living room of the Kandel's home Tuesday discussing Hannah's workout motivation, Sonneborn added some incentive for the 18 year old.

"Hannah, do you like pies?," said Sonneborn, also the principal trumpet with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra. "Because one of our sponsors, Whole Foods, is giving a pie to everyone that finishes the race."

Though still mindful of her weight loss goals, Hannah lit up.

Sonneborn has been handling the nuts and bolts of organizing the Gobble Gobble for nine years, watching it grow with each incarnation. He confessed to sometimes getting lost in the minutiae of getting the race together, but that stories like Hannah's reminds him why he goes through the toils.

"It's really what Thanksgiving is all about," he said. "It's about sharing and being healthy.

"But it also shows what seems so amazing and unattainable becomes routine with hard work. At first, just running down the block seems like a marathon. And then, four miles, likes our race, is nothing."

Hannah and Merry share a motto: "Dream it. Believe it. Achieve it."

Thursday morning Hannah will run her very first road race. The dream started with a too tight Irish step costume and a dash to a pumpkin patch.

The "Believe it" part came when, under Pemberton's watch, Hannah ran four miles on the treadmill in 48 minutes.

The "Achieve it" will happen when the starting gun sounds and Hannah takes that first step toward the finish line.